Exclusive: Resident Evil Reboot Movie Based On The Best Game In The Works
A new Resident Evil movie will be based on the acclaimed fourth game and focus on Leon Kennedy.
The Resident Evil movie franchise is being rebooted yet again by Sony Pictures’ Screen Gems. According to our trusted and proven sources, the critically disdained but long-running series will be revived with a new movie based on Resident Evil 4, perhaps the most beloved of the entire video game series. Accordingly, this new movie will focus on the fan-favorite character Leon S. Kennedy, rather than Alice, who has largely been the protagonist of the franchise up till now.
Resident Evil 4 was released in 2005, originally on GameCube but eventually ported to virtually every system, including the PlayStation 2, PC, Wii, and various mobile platforms. It was an enormous commercial and critical hit for Capcom and the franchise, selling a colossal 11 million copies and being universally praised for its innovative gameplay, storytelling, and pretty much every aspect of the game. Almost 20 years later, it is still considered one of the greatest games ever made and a high-water mark for the Resident Evil franchise and is currently being remade.
So it makes sense that Screen Gems would look to Resident Evil 4 to attempt to resurrect the film series, which has been floundering in recent years. There have been seven films in the series so far, six of which starred Milla Jovovich as Alice; many of the movies were directed by her spouse Paul W.S. Anderson, who also frequently co-wrote and produced. While the movies were consistently poorly regarded by critics, they were also noted for their striking visuals, Jovovich-centered action, and essentially developing a storyline only loosely attached to the game series.
But more importantly, the Resident Evil film series has been extremely successful at the box office, collectively grossing over $1.2 billion at the box office. That is less than a single Avatar movie these days, but with much lower budgets and a dedicated fan base, Sony Pictures no doubt wants to try to utilize the IP.
The seventh and most recent entry in the Resident Evil movie franchise was a hard reboot, jettisoning Milla Jovovich, Paul W.S. Anderson, and their accumulated lore with an eye to starting a new series. Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City starred Hannah John-Kamen and Kaya Scodelario and grossed $42 million at the box office against a budget of $25 million, so it did not exactly flop but is not great either. The film largely followed the plot of the first two games, so there is certainly room for this next movie to take things to the fourth game’s plot.
Aside from the upcoming Resident Evil 4-based movie, there is also a CGI-animation film featuring Leon Kennedy coming out soon, so it looks like the franchise is looking to pivot to focus on him over Alice, Jill Valentine, or Claire Redfield. Leon Kennedy already appeared in Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, played by Avan Jogia, so it seems possible this new movie will be a direct continuation of that continuity. Hopefully, it will do better than the recently canceled Netflix series.
